


My Blood

by sso_Viktor7



Category: Star Stable
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-17
Updated: 2018-10-17
Packaged: 2019-08-03 12:50:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,589
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16326572
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sso_Viktor7/pseuds/sso_Viktor7
Summary: It's May 25, and Viktor is finally able to move on from this day with the help of his friends. (Louisa belongs to Burgie, and Willow belongs to willownorthbrook)





	My Blood

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Burgie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Burgie/gifts), [willownorthbook](https://archiveofourown.org/users/willownorthbook/gifts).



May 25. It was a day that meant a lot to Viktor. It meant so, so much. In his dream, he could hear the crash of metal against metal, the airbags rupturing through their confinements to try and save the lives of those trapped inside. Viktor woke up in cold sweat and silent tears, and he realized that it was all just a dream. A flashback to that day. To that accident.

He sat up on his bed, and wiped the tears away with a soft sob. That nightmare always came on this day. Any other day, he could have decent dreams, but on this day, he always had the nightmare. Even with all of the recovering he had been doing thanks to Louisa and Willow, Viktor could’t seem to let go of one particular pain.

His mother.

He hadn’t been young enough to forget her, or have her be only a foggy memory. He remembered her as clear as day. Her light brown eyes, and darker skin he had taken after. Her freckles that lightly peppered her face and shoulders, yet had multiplied on Viktor. He remembered her laugh, her smiles that made any day brighter.  _ He remembered. _

Viktor held back a sob as the memories of his mother flooded over him. This happened all the time, but was especially stronger on this day. The anniversary of her death. He rose from his bed and slowly made his way to the bathroom. His reflection showed his puffy red eyes, and runny nose from all of his crying, and he sighed. He took a shower and changed into a white shirt with a maroon jacket over it, black jeans and black riding boots.

He went back out to his room and stared at his phone that rested on the nightstand beside his bed. It took him a lot of pondering, but he finally picked up the phone, and dialed up Louisa.

“You’re up early.” Louisa’s voice answered once she picked up. She didn’t sound sleepy, so she had probably been awake a bit longer than Viktor.

Viktor took a deep breath, which caught in his throat a bit. “I um…” He whimpered slightly, and heard Louisa go dead silent. “I wanted to know if you wanted to go for a trail ride. I really need it.”

It was a few seconds before Louisa answered. “Yeah, of course. Are you coming over to Golden Hills?” She said softly. Her tone was warm and motherly, she knew something was wrong with Viktor.

“Yeah. Is it okay if Willow comes too?” He asked.

“Of course it’s okay! I’ll be waiting for you two.” Louisa let her voice sound happier, for Viktor’s sake, and it made him smile slightly.

Viktor hung up and called Willow. The interaction was similar, except Willow nearly climbed through her phone asking if he was okay. Once Viktor made sure she’d show up, he hung up and made his way to Jorvik Stables. This was his one of his free days, since Johanna knew how low he felt on this day. As he passed her, she gave him a kind smile, then went back to her work.

Viktor went into the stables and tacked up Phantom, who was being kinder than normal. He always was on this day in particular. He lead Phantom out of the stables and mounted, riding towards the docks and waiting for the Cape West ferry.

“How are you holding up?” Phantom asked as they waited for the ferry. No one else was around, so the gelding found it safe for him to speak.

Viktor smiled faintly and ran a hand through Phantom’s mane. “I guess I’m decent.” He shrugged. “A little better than past years.”

“That’s good,” Phantom nodded, “you have friends to rely on now. I know they’d do anything for you.”

Viktor didn’t respond to that; he didn’t have to. Phantom knew what his response would be anyway. The ferry arrived, and Phantom walked on board, looking around and acting like a normal horse again. The ride was smooth, thankfully, and the skies looked clear all over Jorvik. The day was beautiful, and Viktor felt bad for feeling so low.

When they arrived at Cape West, Viktor took a deep breath, taking in the smell of the ocean and of fish. It wasn’t a particularly attractive aroma, but it reminded him of Louisa and of Puerto Rico. He urged Phantom forward and off the ferry, and headed to Louisa’s house. When he arrived, he was mildly surprised to find that Willow was already there, standing next to Rebel. She lived on the other side of Jorvik, yet she managed to get here sooner than Viktor, who was only a ferry ride away.

Viktor unmounted, and Willow ran up to him, giving him a tight hug. He returned the hug just as tightly, and let himself cry on her shoulder. He heard Willow whispering reassuring things, and felt her rubbing his back softly. They spent a good while like this, until they heard Louisa clear her throat beside them. Viktor pulled away from Willow, only to be pulled back into an even tighter hug from Louisa. She was crying with him at this point, but wasn’t really sobbing as bad as Viktor was. Phantom watched with a warm gaze, happy that his rider had people to confide in.

Once Louisa pulled away, she wiped Viktor’s tears from his cheeks, and gave him a soft smile. “How are you feeling?” She asked gently.

“A little better.” Viktor smiled.

“That’s good.” Willow grinned from where she stood. “Come on, we have a trail ride to go on.” She said and jogged back to Rebel, and mounting her.

Viktor chuckled and mounted Phantom, riding up to stand next to Willow. Louisa mounted Smokeeyes, her trusty Andalusian, and rode up to her friends. They gave each other friendly smiles before riding off in the general direction of Jasper’s farm. They followed the stone path that lead to the farm, but they decided to go to the forest instead and let the horses rest there. The ride was filled with jokes and laughs, as Louisa and Willow tried to make Viktor think of something else. Helping him not get consumed by the grief in his heart.

When they reached the forest and were past the markers at the beginning of the race, they unmounted and led their horses the rest of the way. They were headed for a small hill, where they often had picnics, and once there, they untacked the horses and let them wonder around the area. They always came back.

“I brought cookies!” Louisa grinned as she pulled out a large bowl filled with chocolate chip cookies from her saddle bag.

“Yay!” Willow and Viktor chorused, and reached in for one cookie each. They knew that Louisa would probably smack their hands if they tried to get more.

The trio of friends sat down on the hill, and began to talk over cookies and chocolate milk Willow brought. They talked about everything and nothing for hours, and they did so comfortably. It wouldn’t be the first time they would spend an entire day in the forest just talking. They did it quite often, actually, even now with Viktor being busy with his training. After a while, a comfortable silence had settled between the friends, and they all simply enjoyed the beauty of Golden Hills Forest.

“Vik…” Louisa started off, looking over at him almost shyly. Viktor looked at her with a tilt of his head, and hummed for her to continue. “What was your mom like?”

Viktor froze, and his gaze fell on the ground. The question wasn’t a bad one, and he knew that Louisa had good intentions when she brought up things like that to him. He took a shaky breath and wiped away a tear that streamed down his cheek.

“She… She was amazing.” Viktor answered shakily. He went off, talking about his mother and all of his memories with her. With every word, Viktor felt a sort of weight lifting off his shoulders, and the grief gripping at his heart lessened. It took a while before Viktor was done, but once he was, Louisa and Willow gave him a group hug.

After a while, they all pulled away and called their horses over and tacked them up once more. They rode back Louisa’s house, where Willow took a trailer back to Valedale after squeezing the life out of Viktor one last time. Once she was gone, Louisa invited Viktor in for tea. They sat there, chatting casually until the sun started to go down, and Viktor took that as his queue to leave. He said goodbye to Louisa, who told him to take care and gave him a hug before letting him go back to Jorvik Stables.

On the ferry ride home, Viktor looked back at Golden Hills Valley and felt a weight leave his shoulders completely. He felt the grief lessen to a dull pain as he turned his gaze forward once Cape West had disappeared over the horizon, and Jarleheim entered his line of sight. He watched as the sun set over the western horizon, and smiled to himself. He smiled to himself and rode Phantom back to the stables, then made his way back to his apartment.

Viktor felt different. He felt sad, but not destroyed anymore. He felt… free. Free of the grief. Free of the memory that haunted his everyday life. And it felt amazing.


End file.
